ctaylorjr14
The Bulls Are Fun Again
Despite back to back losses to the 76ers, the Chicago Bulls have started the NBA season with a 6-3 record. There is a level of excitement about this team that hasn’t been seen since Derrick Rose’s MVP season in 2011. The offseason acquisitions of G Lonzo Ball and F/G Demar Derozan have not only brought added depth but in Ball a defensive presence on the perimeter and in Derozan a veteran, professional scorer.
The Bulls also have some young guns who despite the lack of experience are playing with confidence. Ayo Dosunmu, Derrick Jones, Jr and Jevante Green come off the bench with athleticism and enthusiasm. Ayo in particular isn’t afraid to take a big shot. Add in veterans like Alex Caruso and Nikola Vucevic and you have a Bulls team that’s going to make some noise.
Among team stats the Bulls have made some strides:
- 10th in FG percentage at 46.1%
- 1st in FT Percentage at 85.9%
- 6th in 3PT Percentage at 36.1%
- 1st in Turnover at 12.1 per game
- 4th in Assist/Turnover ratio at 1.9
- 10th in Block Shots at 5.4 per game
The loss of 2nd year PF Patrick Williams will be a big blow for a Bulls team that was already undersized. They will have rebound by committee. With all of that said, I think I can say… the Bulls are back.
Scottie Trippen
In the midst of this rejuvenation of the Bulls, former Bulls superstar Scottie Pippen has once again grabbed the headlines and not necessarily for all of the right reasons.
Let me start by saying this – Scottie Pippen is an all-time great basketball player. The term ‘point forward’ was invented because of Pippen. Among his list of accolades include:
- 6-time NBA Champion(1991-93, 96-98)
- 2-time Olympic Gold medalist(1992, 1996)
- 7-time NBA All-Star(1990, 92-97)
- 3-time All-NBA 1st Team(1994-96)
- 2-time All-NBA 2nd Team(1992, 97)
- 2-time All-NBA 3rd Team(1993, 98)
- 8-time All-Defensive 1st Team(1992-1999)
- 2-time All-Defensive 2nd Team(1991, 2000)
- 1994 NBA All-Star Game MVP
- 1995 NBA Steals Leader
- Named as a Top 50 player of all-time
I will argue to anyone that Scottie Pippen is the best defender in the history of the NBA. He is one of the 10 greatest all-around players in the history of the league. His greatness speaks for itself.
While I love Pippen, he has had a LONG history of speaking recklessly on several issues. Since the release of the award-winning documentary The Last Dance, Pippen has been very outspoken in his criticism of former teammate Michael Jordan.
Scottie is releasing his book, Unguarded(along with a cigar & a cognac), and in that book he eviscerates Jordan, Charles Barkley, Kevin Durant and even former teammate John Paxson among others. An excerpt from his book is in the latest article from GQ Magazine. The kicker from the excerpt was Pippen’s admission that he never sent MJ condolences after the brutal murder of Jordan’s father, James Jordan.
Look, he can be mad about The Last Dance but did MJ tell him to say he wasn’t gonna let his foot injury in 1997 “f*ck up his summer?” Did MJ tell Pip to say that he wouldn’t change a thing about the 1.8 seconds? Did MJ tell him to make bad business decision after bad business decision?
Yeah… we all know MJ wasn’t the salt of the earth. Will Perdue said it best – “he could be an a$$hole, a jerk and he cross the line several times… but he was still a helluva teammate. We also know that everything that was discussed in the Last Dance was common knowledge.
ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith & Jonathan Hood offer their thoughts on Scottie’s latest foot-in-mouth moment:
Scottie was the #2 guy one of the greatest dynasties in the history of sports. He’s a Hall of Famer & one of the 75 greatest players in NBA history. MJ even said in the Last Dance documentary, “When you speak Michael Jordan you should speak Scottie Pippen.” At every chance he’s had, Michael Jordan has given Pippen his flowers. What more does Pippen want? At some point Scottie Pippen has to own up to his own mistakes.
Final Musings
- Packers QB Aaron Rodgers missed today’s game due to testing positive for COVID-19 earlier last week. It was also discovered that Rodgers lied about being vaccinated and then proceeded to go on Joe Rogan’s show to talk about doing his own research, blaming the ‘woke mob’ and quoting MLK while trying to defend himself. Looks like Mr. Discount Double Check needs to sit a few plays out. I’m not here to demonize him for choosing not to take the vaccine. What I will roast him for is his arrogance and lack of empathy for those who are around him.
- This hasn’t been the best of starts for the Nets’ James Harden. A rule change has him seeing less trips to the charity stripe and it has clearly affected his game. Take a look at these two clips and tell me if this dude is still ‘elite’:
- And finally, there’s good news & bad news. The good news is the Bears weren’t on my TV this Sunday to ruin my day of NFL football. The bad news is the Bears will be on my TV for Monday Night Football which means they get embarrass themselves on national TV and make me nauseous at the same time. Ugh….
About Author
